The Galaxy Z Flip is the company’s second foldable phone, but it is not a direct sequel to the original Galaxy Fold. Samsung is expected to launch a true follow-up, which we’ll refer to as the ‘Galaxy Fold 2‘ for the time being, in the second half of the year. The company will improve it in several key areas, including the foldable display which already has been made better with the Galaxy Z Flip.

Now, according to fresh reports from The Elec citing industry sources, Samsung is working on combining transparent polyimide (PI) with Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) to create a new foldable screen solution for the Galaxy Fold 2. As Samsung has detailed before, the Galaxy Fold’s screen uses polyimide whereas the Galaxy Z Flip employs Ultra-Thin Glass.

Samsung’s new foldable solution might support the S Pen

UTG is structurally stronger than PI and a better fit for touchscreens, but the downside is that it is extremely brittle. This is why it requires a softer protective layer on top. In contrast, PI is very malleable but not very resilient, and by combining both of these technologies, Samsung might be able to create a foldable screen that is flexible yet resilient enough to perhaps support an S Pen.

Of course, if Samsung would release an S Pen-enabled Galaxy Fold 2 in the second half of the year, it would technically join the Galaxy Note series, which would likely continue to live on as a non-foldable S Pen solution. For now, keep in mind that early rumors are subject to change and Samsung may or may not be able to ready this new foldable screen technology by the time the Galaxy Fold 2 enter mass production. We’ll keep you posted.